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 MACNEIL,
HECTOR, a poet and miscellaneous writer, was born at Rosebank, near Roslin,
in the year 1746. His father had been in the army, where he was patronized
by the duke of Argyle, and had mingled in the best company but, having
offended his patron by selling out without his advice, he was left
afterwards to his own resources. He took a farm at Rosebank; but some
imprudences, and the habit of living in a manner above his income,
completely ruined his prospects. As his family was then large, it became
necessary that the sons should, as soon as possible, be made independent of
him. The only expectation for Hector was from a cousin, who carried on a
mercantile concern in Bristol. The father, therefore, confined his education
to the mercantile branches, dreading, from his own example, the effect of
more refined and classical instruction. The youth discovered excellent
parts, with an elegance of taste which seemed to mark him for a different
destination from that intended. At the age of eleven, he had written a
species of drama, in imitation of Gay. His master earnestly entreated to be
allowed to give him some of the higher branches; but on this his father put
a decided negative. The attachment, however, of the teacher to his pupil,
induced him to impart secretly some elements of this forbidden knowledge.
From the father, meantime, young Macneil received many anecdotes of the
world, a high sense of honour, and the feelings of a gentleman.
As soon as he had completed
his fourteenth year, he was sent off to his cousin at Bristol (in his way,
he spent some months at Glasgow, where he completed himself in several
branches of his education. His cousin was a rough, boisterous, West India
captain, who could not estimate the genius of Macneil, but was pleased with
some instances of his spirit. He first proposed to Hector an expedition in a
slave ship to the coast of Guinea; but was diverted from it by some female
friends, who rightly judged this destination wholly unsuited to the youth’s
disposition. He was, therefore, sent on a voyage to St Christopher’s, with
the view of making the sea his profession, if he liked it; otherwise, he was
furnished with an introduction to a mercantile house. On his arrival, being
completely disgusted with the sea, he hesitated not in accepting the latter
alternative. It is probably to this period of his life, that we are to fix
an event of a singular nature which is stated to have entirely altered his
prospects in life. His master had married a lady much younger than himself,
and of great personal attractions; and young Macneil was upon terms of equal
intimacy with both. One day, while he was sitting upon a garden chair with
the lady, and reading with her from the same book, the ardent feelings of
one-and-twenty prompted him to express his admiration of her beauty, by
snatching a kiss. It proved the knell of his departing fortune.
Notwithstanding his instant penitence, and entreaties for forgiveness, the
lady conceived it necessary to inform her husband of what had happened; and
the immediate consequence was, the dismissal of Macneil, and a termination
to the prospects that were brightening around him, he continued for many
years in the West Indies, but does not appear to have ever after known what
could be called prosperity. At one time, if not during the whole remaining
period of his residence in those colonies, this hapless bard had to stoop to
the ungenial employment of a negro-driver. While in this situation, he
became a strenuous advocate for the system of West India slavery, and wrote
a pamphlet in its defence. The only thing which he allowed to be
necessary to make the condition of slavery agreeable, was an improvement in
the moral conduct of the masters: a subsequent age has seen slavery brought
to an end before this improvement was accomplished.
When above forty years of
age, Macneil returned to Scotland, in a wretched state of health, and
without having earned even a moderate independence. In these circumstances,
notwithstanding that he had many good connexions, and still preserved the
feelings of a gentleman and a poet, his situation was of a truly deplorable
kind. He, nevertheless, began to exercise the intellectual faculties, which,
though so early displayed, had been kept in a kind of abeyance during the
intervening period of his life. In 1789, he published "The Harp, a Legendary
Tale," which brought him into some notice in the literary circles. In 1795,
appeared his principal poetical composition, "Scotland’s Skaith, or the
history o’ Will and Jean; ower true a Tale," followed next year by a sequel,
entitled "The Waes o’ War." Its excellent intention and tendency, with the
strokes of sweet and beautiful pathos with which it abounds, render this one
of the most admired productions of the Doric muse of Scotland. Except for a
simplicity, occasionally degenerating into baldness, which characterizes
this as well as other productions of Macneil, "Will and Jean" might safely
be compared with the happiest efforts of any other Scottish poet. The
enchanting influence of village potations and politics—the deterioration of
a worthy rustic character by such means—the consequent despair and
degradation of an originally amiable wife—besides the distresses of the
Flemish campaign of 1793, and the subsequent restoration of the ruined
family to partial comfort, are all delineated in most masterly style. About
the same time, Macneil produced "The Links of Forth; or a parting Peep at
the Carse of Stirling." This is a descriptive poem; but, though not devoid
of merit, it is more laboured and less pleasing. He wrote also a number of
songs, some of which possess much pathos and delicacy of sentiment. Not
being able, however, to find any means of providing a subsistence, necessity
compelled him to seek again the burning climate of the West Indies. After a
residence there of only a year and a half, Mr Graham, an intimate
friend, died, and left him an annuity of £100, with which he immediately
returned to Edinburgh, to enjoy, with this humble independence, the sweets
of literary leisure and society. His reputation and manners procured him
ready admittance into the most respectable circles; he enjoyed particularly
the intimacy of Mrs Hamilton, authoress of "The Cottagers of Glenburnie" and
other esteemed works of fancy. He was then a tall, fine-looking old man,
with a very sallow complexion, and a dignified and somewhat austere
expression of countenance. His conversation was graceful and agreeable,
seasoned with a somewhat lively and poignant satire. Having probably found
in his own case, that devotion to the muses did not tend to promote his
success in life, he gave no encouragement to it in others, and earnestly
exhorted all who wrote poetry that appeared to him at all middling, to
betake themselves to some more substantial occupation. In 1800, he
published, anonymously, a novel, or the first part of one, entitled "The
Memoirs of Charles Macpherson," which is understood to contain a pretty
accurate account of the early part of his own life. In 1801, his poetical
works were collected into two volumes, foolscap 8vo, and passed through
several editions. In 1809, he published "The Pastoral, or Lyric Muse of
Scotland," in 4to, a work which did not draw much attention. About the same
time, he published, anonymously, "Town Fashions, or Modern Manners
Delineated;" and also, "By-gone Times, and Late-come Changes." These pieces,
like almost every thing he wrote, had a moral object; but the present one
was tinctured with his feelings as an old man. It appeared to him, that all
the changes which had taken place in society, the increase of luxury, even
the diffusion of knowledge, were manifest corruptions; and all his anxiety
was to inspire a taste for the old style of living. Wishing to suit the
style to the matter, he affected a very homely phraseology; and as this was
not natural to him, he overdid it, and disgusted rather than persuaded. Yet
he clung very fondly to these bantlings of his old age, and even rated them
higher than the more elegant productions of his former pen. Their only real
beauty, though he was insensible of it, consisted in a few pathetic
passages. Our author also wrote, with the same views, and too much in the
same style, a novel, entitled "The Scottish Adventurers, or the Way to
Rise," 2 vols. 8vo, 1812. Throughout the earlier years of the century, he
contributed many minor pieces, in prose and verse, to the Scots Magazine, of
which he was at one time editor.
After a long life of penury,
aggravated by ill health, Mr Macneil died of jaundice, March 15, 1818, not
leaving behind him wherewithal to defray his funeral expenses.
Hector Macneill was born on
the 22d of October 1746, in the villa of Rosebank, near Roslin; and, to to
use his own words, "amidst the murmur of streams and the shades of
Hawthornden, may be said to have inhaled with life the atmosphere of a oet."
Descended from an old family, who possessed a small estate in the southern
district of Argyllshire, his father, after various changes of fortune, had
obtained a company in the 42d Regiment, with which he served during several
campaigns in Flanders. From continued indisposition, and consequent
inability to undergo the fatigues of military life, he disposed of his
commission, and retired, with his wife and two children, to the villa of
Rosebank, of which he became the owner. A few years after the birth of his
son Hector, he felt necessitated, from straitened circumstances, to quit
this beautiful residence; and he afterwards occupied a farm on the banks of
Loch Lomond. Such a region of the picturesque was highly suitable for the
development of those poetical talents which had already appeared in young
Hector, amidst the rural amenities of Roslin. In his eleventh year, he wrote
a drama, after the manner of Gay; and the respectable execution of his
juvenile attempts in versification gained him the approbation of Dr Doig,
the learned rector of the grammar-school of Stirling, who strongly urged his
father to afford him sufficient instruction, to enable him to enter upon one
of the liberal professions. Had Captain Macneill's circumstances been
prosperous, this counsel might have been adopted, for the son's promising
talents were not unnoticed by his father; but pecuniary difficulties opposed
an unsurmountable obstacle.
An opulent relative, a West India trader, resident in Bristol, had paid the
captain a visit; and, attracted by the shrewdness of the son Hector, who was
his namesake, offered to retain him in his employment, and to provide for
him in life. After two years' preparatory education, he was accordingly sent
to Bristol, in his fourteenth year. He was destined to an adventurous
career, singularly at variance with his early predilections and pursuits. By
his relative he was designed to sail in a slave ship to the coast of Guinea;
but the intercession of some female friends prevented his being connected
with an expedition so uncongenial to his feelings. He was now despatched on
board a vessel to the island of St Christopher's, with the view of his
making trial of a seafaring life, but was provided with recommendatory
letters, in the event of his preferring employment on land. With a son of
the Bristol trader he remained twelvemonths; and, having no desire to resume
his labours as a seaman, he afterwards sailed for Guadaloupe, where he
continued in the employment of a merchant for three years, till 1763, when
the island was ceded to the French. Dismissed by his employer, with a scanty
balance of salary, he had some difficulty in obtaining the means of
transport to Antigua; and there, finding himself reduced to entire
dependence, he was content, without any pecuniary recompense, to become
assistant to his relative, who had come to the town of St John's. From this
unhappy condition he was rescued, after a short interval. He was possessed
of a knowledge of the French language; a qualification which, together with
his general abilities, recommended him to fill the office of assistant to
the Provost-Marshal of Grenada. This appointment he held for three years,
when, hearing of the death of his mother and sister, he returned to Britain.
On the death of his father, eighteen months after his arrival, he succeeded
to a small patrimony, which he proceeded to invest in the purchase of an
annuity of £80 per annum. With this limited income, he seems to have planned
a permanent settlement in his native country; but the unexpected
embarrassment of the party from whom he had purchased the annuity, and an
attachment of an unfortunate nature, compelled him to re-embark on the ocean
of adventure. He accepted the office of assistant-secretary on board Admiral
Geary's flag-ship, and made two cruises with the grand fleet. Proposing
again to return to Scotland, he afterwards resigned his appointment; but he
was induced, by the remonstrances of his friends, Dr Currie, and Mr Roscoe,
of Liverpool, to accept a similar situation on board the flag-ship of Sir
Richard Bickerton, who had been appointed to take the chief command of the
naval power in India. In this post, many of the hardships incident to a
seafaring life fell to his share; and being present at the last indecisive
action with "Suffrein," he had likewise to encounter the perils of war. His
present connexion subsisted three years; but Macneill sickened in the
discharge of duties wholly unsuitable for him, and longed for the comforts
of home. His resources were still limited, but he flattered himself in the
expectation that he might earn a subsistence as a man of letters. He fixed
his residence at a farm-house in the vicinity of Stirling; and, amidst the
pursuits of literature, the composition of verses, and the cultivation of
friendship, he contrived, for a time, to enjoy a considerable share of
happiness. But he speedily discovered the delusion of supposing that an
individual, entirely unknown in the literary world, could at once be able to
establish his reputation, and inspire confidence in the bookselling trade,
whose favour is so essential to men of letters. Discouraged in longer
persevering in the attempt of procuring a livelihood at home, Macneill, for
the fourth time, took his departure from Britain. Provided with letters of
introduction to influential and wealthy persons in Jamaica, he sailed for
that island on a voyage of adventure; being now in his thirty-eighth year,
and nearly as unprovided for as when he had first left his native shores,
twenty-four years before. On his arrival at Kingston, he was employed by the
collector of customs, whose acquaintance he had formed on the voyage; but
this official soon found he could dispense with his services, which he did,
without aiding him in obtaining another situation. The individuals to whom
he had brought letters were unable or unwilling to render him assistance,
and the unfortunate adventurer was constrained, in his emergency, to accept
the kind invitation of a medical friend, to make his quarters with him till
some satisfactory employment might occur. He now discovered two intimate
companions of his boyhood settled in the island, in very prosperous
circumstances, and from these he received both pecuniary aid and the promise
of future support. Through their friendly offices, his two sons, who had
been sent out by a generous friend, were placed in situations of
respectability and emolument. But the thoughts of the poet himself were
directed towards Britain. He sailed from Jamaica, with a thousand plans and
schemes hovering in his mind, equally vague and indefinite as had been his
aims and designs during the past chapter of his history. A small sum given
him as the pay of an inland ensigncy, now conferred on him, but antedated,
sufficed to defray the expenses of the voyage.
Before leaving Scotland for Jamaica, Macneill had commenced a poem, founded
on a Highland tradition; and to the completion of this production he
assiduously devoted himself during his homeward voyage. It was published at
Edinburgh in 1789, under the title of "The Harp, a Legendary Tale." In the
previous year, he published a pamphlet in vindication of slavery, entitled,
"On the Treatment of the Negroes in Jamaica." This pamphlet, written to
gratify the wishes of an interested friend, rather than as the result of his
own convictions, he subsequently endeavoured to suppress. For several years,
Macneill persevered in his unsettled mode of life. On his return from
Jamaica, he resided in the mansion of his friend, Mr Graham of Gartmore,
himself a writer of verses, as well as a patron of letters; but a difference
with the family caused him to quit this hospitable residence. After passing
some time with his relatives in Argyllshire, he entertained a proposal of
establishing himself in Glasgow, as partner of a mercantile house, but this
was terminated by the dissolution of the firm; and a second attempt to
succeed in the republic of letters had an equally unsuccessful issue. In
Edinburgh, whither he had removed, he was seized with a severe nervous
illness, which, during the six following years, rendered him incapable of
sustained physical exertion. With a little money, which he contrived to
raise on his annuity, he retired to a small cottage at St Ninians; but his
finances again becoming reduced, he accepted of the hospitable invitation of
his friends, Major Spark and his lady, to become the inmate of their
residence of Viewforth House, Stirling. At this period, Macneill composed
the greater number of his best songs, and produced his poem of "Scotland's
Skaith, or the History of Will and Jean," which was published in 1795, and
speedily gained him a wide reputation. Before the close of twelvemonths, it
passed through no fewer than fourteen editions. A sequel, entitled "The Waes
o' War," which appeared in 1796, attained nearly an equal popularity. The
original ballad was composed during the author's solitary walks along the
promenades of the King's Park, Stirling, while he was still suffering mental
depression. It was completed in his own mind before any of the stanzas were
committed to paper.
The hope of benefiting his enfeebled constitution in a warm climate induced
him to revisit Jamaica. As a parting tribute to his friends at Stirling, he
published, in 1799, immediately before his departure, a descriptive poem,
entitled "The Links of Forth, or a Parting Peep at the Carse of Stirling,"
which, regarded as the last effort of a dying poet, obtained a reception
fully equal to its merits.
On the oft-disappointed and long unfortunate poet the sun of prosperity at
length arose. On his arrival in Jamaica, one of his early friends, Mr John
Graham, of Three-Mile-River, settled on him an annuity of £100 a-year; and,
in a few months afterwards, they sailed together for Britain, the poet's
health being essentially improved. Macneill now fixed his permanent
residence in Edinburgh, and, with the proceeds of several legacies
bequeathed to him, together with his annuity, was enabled to live in
comparative affluence. The narrative of his early adventures and hardships
is supposed to form the basis of a novel, entitled "The Memoirs of Charles
Macpherson, Esq.," which proceeded from his pen in 1800. In the following
year, he published a complete edition of his poetical works, in two
duodecimo volumes. In 1809, he published "The Pastoral, or Lyric Muse of
Scotland," in a thin quarto volume; and about the same time, anonymously,
two other works in verse, entitled "Town Fashions, or Modern Manners
Delineated," and "Bygone Times and Late-come Changes." His last work, "The
Scottish Adventurers," a novel, appeared in 1812, in two octavo volumes.
The latter productions of Hector Macneill, both in prose and verse, tended
rather to diminish than increase his fame. They exhibit the sentiments of a
querulous old man, inclined to cling to the habits of his youth, and to
regard any improvement as an act of ruthless innovation. As the author of
some excellent songs, and one of the most popular ballads in the Scottish
language, his name will continue to be remembered. His songs, "Mary of
Castlecary," "My boy, Tammie," "Come under my plaidie," "I lo'ed ne'er a
laddie but ane," "Donald and Flora," and "Dinna think, bonnie lassie," will
retain a firm hold of the popular mind. His characteristic is tenderness and
pathos, combined with unity of feeling, and a simplicity always genuine and
true to nature. Allan Cunningham, who forms only a humble estimate of his
genius, remarks that his songs "have much softness and truth, an insinuating
grace of manners, and a decorum of expression, with no small skill in the
dramatic management of the stories."[11] The ballad of "Scotland's Skaith"
ranks among the happiest conceptions of the Scottish Doric muse; rural life
is depicted with singular force and accuracy, and the debasing consequences
of the inordinate use of ardent spirits among the peasantry, are delineated
with a vigour and power, admirably adapted to suit the author's benevolent
intention in the suppression of intemperance.
During his latter years, Macneill was much cherished among the fashionables
of the capital. He was a tall, venerable-looking old man; and although his
complexion was sallow, and his countenance somewhat austere, his agreeable
and fascinating conversation, full of humour and replete with anecdote,
rendered him an acceptable guest in many social circles. He displayed a
lively, but not a vigorous intellect, and his literary attainments were
inconsiderable. Of his own character as a man of letters, he had evidently
formed a high estimate. He was prone to satire, but did not unduly indulge
in it. He was especially impatient of indifferent versification; and, among
his friends, rather discouraged than commended poetical composition. Though
long unsettled himself, he was loud in his commendations of industry; and,
from the gay man of the world, he became earnest on the subject of religion.
For several years, his health seems to have been unsatisfactory. In a letter
to a friend, dated Edinburgh, January 30, 1813, he writes:—"Accumulating
years and infirmities are beginning to operate very sensibly upon me now,
and yearly do I experience their increasing influence. Both my hearing and
my sight are considerably weakened, and, should I live a few years longer, I
look forward to a state which, with all our love for life, is certainly not
to be envied.... My pen is my chief amusement. Reading soon fatigues, and
loses its zest; composition never, till over-exertion reminds me of my
imprudence, by sensations which too frequently render me unpleasant during
the rest of the day." On the 15th of March 1818, in his seventy-second year,
the poet breathed his last, in entire composure, and full of hope.
The Poetical Works of Hector
MacNeill
A new edition corrected and enlarged in two volumes
Volume 1 |
Volume 2
The Scottish Adventurers
Or, The Way to Rise, An historical tale by Hector MacNeill (1812) (pdf) |
